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Glite Dictionary
eponymous

eponymous

8 8.2
Giving its name to something or being named after a person
  • adjective
  • /ˌɛpəˈnɪməs/
translation icon : epónimo
  • Maryland, which is no longer a significant producing area, had its own eponymous type.
  • eponymous hero
  • eponymous heroine
  • eponymous character

The host of this eponymous talk show would proudly proclaim it was the worst TV show of all time at the start of each episode.

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Examples

  • A notable exception is the eponymous hero of Kingsley's Ravenshoe.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Around 1920, not so long after Max Planck proposed his eponymous constant, this song emerged at Cambridge University in the UK.

    Academic text (2006)

  • I'm playing the eponymous hero, you see.

    Hot Fuzz (2007)

  • Thus, he is their eponymous ancestor and the author of all healing.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The host of this eponymous talk show would proudly proclaim it was the worst TV show of all time at the start of each episode.

    Smosh Pit

  • The novel's subject is Mexican, focusing on the eponymous sixteenth-century Tlascaltecan general and his tragic resistance to conquest.

    Academic text (2018)

  • While Douglas Coupland is famous for labeling the post-Boomers "Generation X" in his eponymous 1991 novel, he has written prolifically ever since.

    Academic text (2013)

  • In 1894, Percival Lowell, an independently wealthy American astronomer, built the eponymous Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Percival Lowell created the eponymous observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, which is a popular destination for astronomy enthusiasts.

  • In the show, the protagonist is an eponymous detective who solves mysteries using his unique skills.

Synonyms

titular
vseponymous
3 8.2

Relating to the character who is named in a book or film

refers to being named for a person rather than being from a work's title
eponymic
vseponymous
9.8

Relating to something named after a person

applies to both people and objects rather than only the person

Surface Forms

eponymous positive

Morphology

eponymous = eponym (transparent) = eponym + ous

The adjective is formed regularly from the noun 'eponym' with the productive suffix '-ous', so its meaning is directly derived from the base.

Etymology

Eponymous comes from Greek parts epi- ('upon') and -onym ('name'), the same root you see in anonymous and synonym. So an eponymous person or thing 'gives its name' to something else, which is why a TV show can have an eponymous main character or a band can put out an eponymous album.